This is indeed a sweet sad cowboy romance. I really enjoyed a lot of the themes explored and how the romance unfolded in this Ya book. I admit I don't lean into cowboy rodeo themes but I do lean into themes on coming of age/overcoming challenges when it comes to YA. I value a story that brings in loss and friendship, genuine grief with the unique challenges of adolescence on the cusp of adulthood **yet still needing space to grow up, to make mistakes, to be... a little wild*
this book honors those very real and valid feelings and needs and does it with a sweet romance added in!

Thank you to St Martins Wednesday Books for thinking of me to review this, it was a win!

Huge thank you to NetGalley, Wednesday Books, and Erin Hahn for allowing me to be an arc reader for this story!!

This YA book is centered around grief, healing, and finding yourself amongst it all. Case Michaels and Winnie Sutton come from two very different backgrounds but are both going through hard times. As their friendship grows throughout the story they find comfort and trust in one another and it’s so sweet watching that unfold. Their struggles felt really honest and I enjoyed the way things unfolded and happened.
Winnie was such a strong female MC. Her mom left when her baby sister was just born and her father is not much help in caring for her siblings so she has stepped up to care for her family and home. She struggles with doing things for herself and always puts her siblings first. I loved seeing her go from someone who wouldn’t even consider doing something for herself to someone who finds what she’s passionate about and follows her dreams.
Case had such a great arc in this story! I think his was my favorite! In the beginning of the story you see him struggling with the death of his best friend Walker. Through the story you see him start to find his own identity and heal from this loss. Seeing him develop into the person he wants to be and learn to let go of the pressures from his family and live the life he wanted was so heartwarming. His arc was truly done so perfectly I absolutely loved it!! Then seeing him fall for Winnie and seeing how much he cared for her and her siblings was so so sweet. He was such a sweet book boyfriend.

I would definitely recommend this story to anyone who likes YA and slow burn!

Even If It Breaks Your Heart by Erin Hahn
Genre: Young Adult, Romance
Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ (4 out of 5 stars)
Format: ebook (eARC)

-YA romance
-Small town Texas setting
-Dual POV
-Cowboys
-Grief
-Chasing your dreams
-Slow burn
-Lovable characters

The dual POV was amazing in this book. Hearing Case navigate the grief of losing his best friend and Winnie keeping her family going and basically being the head of the household was crushing. I also am a sucker for seeing the main characters’ feelings for each other grow from both of their perspectives.

You’ll absolutely fall in love with Winnie and want to give her a huge hug - she’s such a strong FMC!! I honestly fell in love with most of the characters in this story - including Mab, Winnie’s horse!! Their bond was beautiful.

I ate up the small town, ranch setting! I’m a Texas girl, but I live in the city, so I thought reading something so different from what I’m used to was fun. All the familiar references to towns and colleges in my state added to the fun as well!

My only problem with this book is the timeline. Either it wasn’t very clear or it wasn’t realistic. For example, it felt like Case decided to apply to college when it was almost or already summer, and then a month later he heard back about the fall semester. I wish it worked that way! But it really doesn’t. However, because I loved the characters and the plot, I could overlook this detail a little more than normal! The love story timeline was perfect, though. I hate it when the romance feels rushed. This one was a slow burn and so so sweet.

Even If It Breaks Your Heart is out February 6th! Thank you to Wednesday Books for my eARC in exchange for my honest review.

What a beautiful ode to grief and the sometimes drawn out route of finding yourself as a young adult.. Case and Winnie, one sided enemies at first, have a love story born from friendship first. Case’s grief in losing his best friend was so raw that you could feel it. Winnie was also coping with grief, but of her lost childhood and having to be the person holding it all together. Now, I will say Winnie’s father has 0 redeeming qualities. Not one. I just love how two people who felt utterly alone were able to find each other and realize they weren’t as alone as they thought, nor do they have to be.

This was an emotional young adult novel about loss, grief, and finding your own way. Erin Hahn pulls no punches, so please be sure to check content warnings before starting. I thought the depiction of grief and the different ways people process that pain was very realistic. Even If It Breaks Your Heart is a coming of age story about chasing dreams and being comfortable in your own skin. Sometimes the details about bull riding and barrel racing were a bit overwhelming for me, but it was also interesting to learn about a sport I know nothing about. The slow burn, friends (after a rough start) to lovers romance between Winnie and Case was very sweet and I appreciated that there was no third act break up. I think throwing in that drama would have been too much considering all the other plot lines and issues our characters were facing. Winnie and Case had very satisfying character arcs and I loved seeing them grow and change. Winnie's relationship with her siblings was definitely a highlight of the book, but I do wish we would have had a little more resolution to her relationship with her father. The epilogue was wonderfully hopeful and the perfect way to say goodbye to these characters.

CW: death of friend (past, but many mentions and flashbacks to the friendship and deterioration of health), grief, financial concerns and food insecurity, parental abandonment (past), parental neglect, chronic illness, death of parent (past), toxic masculinity, mentions of past animal neglect, truancy, underage drinking, mentions of pandemic

*I voluntarily read an advance review copy of this book*

4.5 stars

Utterly beautiful. This is her softest, tenderest, messiest-in-the-best-way YA book to date. You'd Be Mine remains my top favourite YA book by her, but this new one comes very close. Case is grieving the death of his best friend, Walker, who has left behind a bucket list of what he never accomplished. Winnie, for her part, has the weight of the world on her young shoulders in the form of two younger siblings to raise and financially support, as her present-but-absent father prefers to bury himself in work than deal with single parenting after his wife walked out after the birth of their third. Case is reconsidering bull-riding which was his "thing" with Walker, while Winnie dreams of being a competitive barrel rider, but how can she ever even think about doing it, with everything on her plate, and everyone depending on her?

Both Case and Winnie are wonderfully real and easy to fall and root for - their flaws, their problems, their fears, their grief, their hopes and dreams, their ability to contain multitudes; Erin really knows how to craft complex, human, teens. Shoutout to Winnie's horse Queen Mab, and Winnie's younger siblings, especially Garrett, Winnie's whip-smart prodigy baby sister. This felt honest and, for the ages of the characters (just out of high school, even though, granted, these two have experienced way too much already), really mature, and both characters' struggles as well as their slow friendship that blossoms into something more reads authentic. Before and even after anything romantic, watching Case and Winnie learn to trust each other, become each other's support systems, tease and navigate their way through what turns into a strong, solid bond is sweet and heartfelt. In true Erin style, this also has a cast of endearing supporting characters.

There's a lot of horse and ranch talk, which isn't really my thing, but it is testament to how beautifully Erin's written these characters and their stories that I cared about them despite that; and I felt what they felt because what's more relatable than finding your place in the world and the things that make you happy, the ones that you were born to do?

Even If It Breaks Your Heart by Erin Hahn
Rating: 5 stars
Pub date: 2/6

Case is barely holding it together after the death of his best friend, Walker. The only thing helping him get by (besides booze and girls) is a list that Walker left him of things he needs to do after Walker is gone. One of the items on the list is to befriend Winnie Sutton, which Case is determined to do, no matter how hard Winnie makes it for him.

Winnie has more important things to worry about than the sudden attention of rich boy Case Michaels. Her main focus is keeping her family together, which is why she’s up early every day working at Case’s family’s ranch. It helps that she loves horses and riding as much as Case does because it’s the only thing these total opposites have in common.

This YA novel about heartbreak, perseverance, friendship, and moving on moved me in a way that’s hard to put into words. I loved the slow-burn, friends-to-lovers relationship that blossomed between Case and Winnie at a time when they both needed it the most. The way they got close and started to lean on each other was heartwarming and made me tear up more than once.

I could feel Case’s heartbreak in my bones, and even though this story has a sad start, Hahn handles difficult topics with a lightness and humor that makes it feel less heavy. Full of flawed, relatable characters, heartbreak, and humor, this will be a story I remember for a long time. Definitely one of my favorites of 2024 so far.

Read if you like:
*YA
*cowboy romance
*enemies-to-friends-to-lovers
*slow burn
*rodeo riders
*opposites attract

Thank you so much to St. Martin’s Press and NetGalley for gifting me a digital copy.

I have loved everything I have read by Erin Hahn! This one was no exception. It did start off a little slow for me but once I got going I could not put this book down! I am a sucker for a romance novel that isn't JUST romance. I also loved the horse, rodeo, and country vibes that this book gave off. If you are looking for a book with a super cute ending that will have you melted into a puddle, I recommend you pick this book up!

Thank you to netgalley, the author, and the publisher for an advanced copy of this book in exchange for my honest review!

Thank you St. Martin’s press for this beautiful ARC! This story followed teenager Winnie and Case, one dealing with grief, but both dealing with the weight of the world on their shoulders. After finding friendship with each other, per the list, the story builds and builds from there, that had me giggling and kicking my feet giddy the whole time.
The slow burn of friends to lovers made the story so real and showed two teenagers falling in love organically, with him falling first! I loved the description of the competitions, that made you feel like you were in the stands. The real star of the book was Garrett, Winnie’s 10 year old younger sister, who had the best personality and comebacks for everything.
The one thing I would’ve loved to see was a look into Case at college and Winnie touring, rather than just a small update in the last chapter, but my heart swooned with this story and I absolutely loved the book!

Language: R (21+ swears, 17+ "f"); Mature Content: PG13+; Violence: PG13+
The main guy, Case, was talking about one night stands and had used the f-word 17 times by the time I was halfway chapter 2, and I decided I didn't want to deal with that content. Part of me is still wondering about what's going to happen, though, which is the only reason I gave it two stars instead of one. Good job pulling me in, but it doesn't feel worth it.
The mature content rating is for underage drinking, innuendo, and mentions of sex. The violence rating is for discussion of suicide.

Erin Hahn, across both her YA and adult fiction, is one of my favorites. This book features older teens who are post-high school and figuring out their futures, and their paths are a little less conventional (and very different). Winnie's character is a great blend of tough and sensitive, and she's been forced to step up for her family in ways that are beyond her years, and while Case has led a life of privilege, the illness and death of his best friend has left him adrift. It's an excellent story, great writing, and wonderful characters who act their age.

Cute and sweet. I really enjoyed the growth of Case and Winnie as they overcame grief and. Other struggles to find themselves and what finally learned to live for themsleves.

Case has a charmed life, but is struggling after the loss of his best friend. Winnie finished high school early to raise her two younger siblings and has had to grow up faster than most. The two find comfort and understanding together in this friends-to-lovers tale. This YA read was very sweet, centered around family, and had a beautiful HEA! Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for this advanced reader copy.

ʙ ᴏ ᴏ ᴋ • ʀ ᴇ ᴠ ɪ ᴇ ᴡ

📖 Even If It Breaks Your Heart
✍🏻 @erinhahn_author
⭐️ 5
🫶🏻 ARC #18 of 2024
📚 25/100

🤠 rodeo / golden retriever MMC
💔 young loss / coping
🥹 moments that make you cry
🏡 small town
🤟🏻 he falls first
📖 young adult
🫶🏻 I can do it myself / badass FMC

Winnie Sutton is easy to cheer for. At 19 she’s the oldest in the family and carries ALOT of the financial, emotional, physical and mental weight for her father and two younger siblings. Enter Case Michaels who comes from money. Life is easy. She has a cook, maid and lives his life on his terms.

But when Case’s best friend dies, he is thrown into a downward spiral of anger and hurt….and Winnie could be the one to save him.

Read their love story, and the story of their healing, freedom and watch their dreams come true.

Erin Hahn you are a romance, sweet contemporary, young adult book, literary genius! 🤌🏻

Thank you so so much @erinhahn_author @netgalley and @stmartinspress for this eARC. It was absolutely beautiful 💖🤌🏻🥹

Oh, how I loved Even If It Breaks Your Heart. It's such an incredibly sweet story about two very different people and how horses help them heal and bring them together.

Case Michaels is reeling from the death of his best friend and finds himself working through a list of things Walker wanted to do before he died. It's the only thing keeping him together. While Winnie is doing everything she can to keep her family running, at eighteen years old. She works at Case's family ranch trying to make ends meet, and riding whenever she can.

As a horseback rider, I know what horses can do for the soul. While I wasn't on the rodeo side, bonding with horses is the same across all disciplines. I completely loved both of the characters and watching them both heal, grow, and discover their dreams.

Whether you read YA or not, or like horses or not, this is a very sweet read and I recommend reading it.

Oh gosh, Erin Hahn sure knows how to break your heart and mend it together. 'Even If It Breaks Your Heart' made me tear up quite a few times. This beautiful and tender book is about grief and forging your own path even when everything is up against you. Above all it's also about masculinity and male friendships.

I absolutely adored these Case and Winnie, who slowly develop a sweet and supportive friendship then romance. I really appreciated that this was an instant attraction but developed slowly as they let each other in. Case's grief has left him spiralling, while Winnie, who has had to put her dreams on hold, is struggling to hold her family together after being parentified from age 10. Both are lonely in such heartbreaking ways, but slowly become each other's support systems.

With its well-rounded characters, seamless plotting, this book was raw, poignant and heartfelt with the most tender romance. Erin Hahn masterfully captures Winnie and Chase's emotional journey, that I felt everything they felt along with them, from angry to sad to joy. This is definitely going to be a book I will keep thinking about. I know its only January but I definitely think its going to be a top read of 2024.

Unflinching,

Thanks to St Martin's Press/ Wednesday Books and NetGalley for the ARC.

Thank you to Wednesday Books and NetGalley for the advanced reader copy. These opinions are my own.

Definitely check your content warnings, as this one starts from the beginning with quite difficult material with a teenager dying of cancer. He leaves behind a list for his best friend Case. And Case decides to check off each item on Walker's behalf. The final item on the list is to befriend Winnie Sutton, a young woman who works on Case's family ranch.

I found the rodeo aspects of this book so well done. It made me want to learn more about barrel racing, and I enjoyed all of the references to Winnie being a horse girl. I especially appreciated that within this space, the book also wrestles with and questions toxic masculinity, class, and privilege.

I found Case and Winnie and their love so beautiful. Both are on challenging paths, and this book feels so authentic and real. Choose your moment for reading this one. It's a lovely story and had me feeling all the emotions and crying.

This is a YA ranch romance, that to me would appeal to all.

Case and Winnie have grown up in very different circumstances. Case comes from a wealthy family, has basically been given all he could have wanted in life. However, at nineteen he is dealing with some heavy grief after the loss of his beset friend. They competed rodeo together, and Case is struggling to return on his own. Before he passed, Walker left a "bucket list" which case is trying his hardest to complete. On the bottom of the list it mentions make friends with Winnie Sutton.

Winnie works on Case's family ranch training Mab, a feisty horse who only seems to love Winnie. Her mom left and her dad has checked out, so she is raising her teenage brother and younger sister. She struggles to make ends meet and doesn't get to live the life of a person her age.

Case tries to befriend Winnie. Winnie fights him at every turn. I loved that he didn't really push, but didn't give up. And before long she is confiding in him and their friendship is growing. You feel the spark blooming between them. I loved the way Case not only encourages her to follow her dream and try barrel racing, he does what he can to give her the support she needs, both emotionally and in helping with her family, so she can.

My heart broke for Case and how deep he was in his grief. I loved that from beyond Walker knew that Winnie would be what Case needed. They way their share their grief, their struggles and their hopes and dreams, and support each other in following their dreams, even when Case's is not with the rodeo, made for such a great read!

Many thanks to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press/Wednesday Books for an ARC in exchange for my honest review.

Oof. This book felt <i>heavy</i> to me in the beginning. I actually wasn't aware that the author referred to it as her "sad cowboy" story, and I am not sure if that would have impacted my decision to pick it up. Let me be clear: I have read and loved this author's work for a while now. When I see her name on any given book, it is almost automatic for me to pick it up. I love the writing style, I love the character depth, I love the way she leaves my heart so happy.

I just need to be a little more selective about storylines. <i>Heavy</i> storylines trigger my fight or flight instincts. I almost bailed on this book a couple of times. It seemed like it was moving so slowly, and like I was stuck in this sad, dark, heavy space. I did love the way Winnie and Case were progressing. I did love their banter and the slow, sweet way their relationship morphed from antagonistic, to friends, to more. The depth and layering and complexity was there - and those are all things I love as I feel like they bring me deeper into the story and really make me <i>feel</i> it.

It's just that life is heavy enough without me carrying the heaviness of a book. So, it was a tough sell for me for probably the first half of the book. The payoff was worth it. Case and Winnie were absolute rockstar main characters. The way their characters grew and matured and essentially rose from the ashes - it was a lovely thing to witness. I adored their relationship from start to finish. I adored the way they cared for each other and lifted each other up. I loved everything about them as a couple and I am really so glad I did stick with the story. It was worth it in the end. The payoff is there, I promise. But if you, like me, are a little skittish about "sad" or "heavy" storylines, just be aware that it takes a bit to get to it.

In the end, I will still pick up almost any Erin Hahn book that crosses my path. I am still in love with the writing, and the storytelling, and the way she leaves my heart so happy. I <i>am</i> glad I stuck with this sad cowboy and definitely think the bruises on my heart were worth getting to see the amazing transformation. It wasn't a perfect reading experience for me, but I would absolutely do it again. ~ Shelly, 3.5 Stars

Similar to other reviewers, I am withholding my review of books by St Martins Press and their imprints until they comply with the demands of the SMP boycott. At that time, I am happy to post the review